EES students present geology research at New Hampshire conference

Eastern student Kristian Kowalski (left) and UConn Professor Emeritus Randy Steinen conduct research that would later be presented at the Northeast Section meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA).

Four environmental earth science students at Eastern Connecticut State University presented their research at the Northeast Section meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA) in Manchester, NH, on March 18.

The students were Kristian Kowalski, mentored by Professor Peter Drzewiecki; Olivia Gentile, mentored by Professor Bryan Oakley; and the team of Cameron Soulagnet '23 and Jonathan Lepire, mentored by Oakley.

"Research conferences are a valuable way to get feedback on your work and learn about what other people are doing," said Drzewiecki. "They can often spark new ideas that help in conducting your own research."

Lepire presented his nearly three years of work with Oakley on the evolution of the lagoon system on the western end of the Napatree Point barrier spit in Watch Hill, RI. "We believe the inlet that connects the lagoon to Little Narragansett Bay will close soon," he said.

Kowalski uses a magnetometer to map an arch of layered rock in Glastonbury, CT.

"Permanent inlet closure will likely alter the lagoon ecosystem and potentially have a negative impact on the surrounding environment," said Lepire. "I hope that the data and results from this project will be useful to those working at the site in the future."

Kowalski, meanwhile, presented his work on an anticline, an arch of layered rock, in Glastonbury, which he mapped using a magnetometer. Drzewiecki co-authored Kowalski's project along with Randy Steinen, professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut, and Donovan Vitale of the United States Geological Survey in Storrs.

"We completed four days of fieldwork locating the buried structure by running the magnetometer along roads in Glastonbury," said Drzewiecki. "Our interpretation is not conclusive but does provide a reliable interpretation where none existed before."

Kowalski's findings will contribute to Connecticut's new bedrock geological map.

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